One of these sad threads.

Parked my car streetside around midnight last Thursday for about 45mins and returned to find this...
I live downtown.

Hit by a kid from the burbs (I'm low 30's so never mind me). Properly drunk at midnight on a Thursday. He seemed to be 5 mins into his 40 minute drive home.
They think he was at an underground gambling spot. LOL.
No one hurt and at least he didn't hit a pedestrian or make it to the highway...














The damage is below... Take a look...


And they wrote it off! Lexus dealer did the assessment.
Exhaust had a leak from the hit and the car was pulling left a little.
Trunk was pushed in on the inside pretty good.
Also cracked the case of case of whichever ECU is in the left fender (next to the tool box).


So the big question.
How much should be looking for for a 2002 Premium with Nav and semi leather (Custom Luxury) in prime physical condition?
My car was parked and the other driver was drunk. Smashed. So it's all on him to cover.

~250,000km (155k Miles). Toronto car as you can see.
Minor door rust (typical spot) was the only blemish.
Mechanically near perfect. Had the left lower balljoint on my mind once winter breaks. Easy DIY and an alignment.

All the toys working perfectly. EVERYTHING.
GROM kit w/ BT added. LEDs all around.

First offer seems is low. He made a quick comparison to the roughed up ones currently on Autotrader.ca and added just a little extra.

Looking to find another good LS. I'll add the extra to get an 04-06. Those seem to go for ~$15k here.
When I can eventually find one. SO RARE for them to be available here.

Considered GS350 or 450h but don't think I can do it. Even the rental '15 ES feels... less.
Already missing the door closers, laser cruise and that torque...

What should my target ask be?

 

Ouch, sorry to hear, sucks to see them go like this.
Hard to say what your Ins is going to offer based on region. Take one of the Cali or Florida values and see what the agent will do for you. Roughly sub $7,000 .

 

Plug in values here for rough idea; http://www.vmrcanada.com/used-car/va...xus-LS430.html

Also, do you know anyone working at a dealership? Like a private dealer?

Ask them to check "traderev", basically a used car network with cars available to swap between shops, this is the "wholesale" value that VMR uses.

Although, I think the values I got [over 10k], guesstimating your options is ridiculous.

I don't know what caused the recent spike in these, but there's been a few in Ottawa for well under 10k.

One was an '01, UL with 160k on it. Guy wanted 8000$
Another '03 CL with 270k sold for 2800$ in town... from a dealer...

But for insurance purposes, turn to kijiji, even search in a wider area [All of Ontario; not QC - they'll be cheaper]. And send them links as a rebuttal for the 2-3 lowballs you will be receiving shortly for it being written off.

**cars like this will be the ones' insurance will look for to give you values... so filter those out!

 

Sorry to see that it got totaled. It would make a wonderful "parts" car.

 

Sorry to see your car totaled. I suggest before you accept a settlement for the car that you go to the tow lot and make sure you have all your possessions out of the car. That can include any accessories or items you added like flash, emergency road kit, cargo net, Lexus first aid kit, leds, and iphone adapter, etc. Once you accept settlement check the car and its contents belong to the insurance company.

 

I hate to sound litigious but if some drunk douche ran into my car and totaled it I'd be lawyering up and expecting more than just the blue book value. If it were me I'd expect extra compensation for the maintenance $ I've put into it, pain and suffering for the search for another unmolested LS, etc. I know that sounds obnoxious but yeah. You were minding your own business and bam, lost your ride bc of someone else's neglect.

 

Sorry to see your that happen; I know the feeling. I wouldn't accept the first offer. The insurance companies like to low-ball us; good luck!

 

So funny you'd point that one out.
It's definitely one of the ones he compared against. And it's a dump

He's saying that they only consider against dealer listings in the Southern Ontario area, except the only 430s listed in the area that aren't roughed up are private listings.

It's not a commuting car for me so I can wait. I'm got Enterprise CarShare and Car2Go to hold me over.

Is there any kind of time limit for accepting a claim btw?
This is my first rodeo.

Hoping to hit ~$11k after compensating for new tires, GROM and a proper equipment comparison.

Headed out there on Saturday to grab my personal stuff and the parts I added like nets, the more expensive LEDs, first aid, chargers. I left the GROM kit in cause I didn't feel like ripping up the dash. I've already asked for $500 to be added to compensate.

That's exactly my state of mind right now. If insurance is being lazy and not pricing for an equal replacement then it'll have to go further. I don't plan on losing a pink cent in value because of this jerk.

 

I am not aware of any time limit on accepting an offer; just remember they do want to keep your business as a client. I never heard of the adjuster basing your car value on another used car; i.e. only one and no Blue Book consideration is questionable.

 

I hope you find another LS just as nice or nicer than your current one. Good luck with the whole process and hopefully things workout in your favor.

 

The only way I know of to play hardball with a car accident insurance claim and not get jerked around on a settlement offer is to use an attorney.

 

Despite the frustration and through no fault of the OP, pain & suffering, extra maintenance, time, etc. are not legally cognizable and recoverable. And, while an attorney may get you a few more dollars, his/her fees will offset any marginal additionally recovered money, and you could actually end up with less. No one litigates the value of a 10-year old automobile that is generally and widely available, with a value that is easily determined. If there was personal injury involved (and fortunately there wasn't), the damages that can be recovered are much more negotiable.

The offender "bought" the car the instant he hit and totaled it. Try to negotiate the higher end of the value range based upon the condition and mileage of the vehicle, utilizing the various pricing tools available.

 

Sorry about your loss.
A big difference here is that this car is bought and registered in Canada.
There is a very small market for a car like this. They are rare and hard to find. This gives it some exclusive status.
Unlike the States where there is a larger market and many to choose from.
I personally looked for months to find a good one. Saw some (01-05) with high mileage and poor condition from C$ 6000 -14000), all private sale.
Dealer, if they had one, were even higher. One Toronto dealer had a 01 with 150k km, mint UL for 13.500. Sold one day after listing
I finally found a one owner 01 with 189k km for C$ 11,500.
Agree with not going with attorney. They might get you a better settlement, then you spend it on their fees. Ask the insurance to provide you with a similar replacement if they think these cars are so profilerate. How many of these cars have they written off.
Check Autotrader. Kijiji is the low end, orphanded cars, trouble cars, I-want -to-get-rid-o-this- right now. Like I want to sell my Armani suit at Thrift shop.
Show the insurance all your service records and all costs of extras you put into the car (materials and labor). I would take out all extra equipment out of the car. The car goes to the wrecker anyway. They will give you basically nothing for it and it would cost you New Price to get it for your next car

 

Sorry for your loss especially since it will be quite difficult to find a comparable replacement especially since you know your car. If you are going for another LS430, no doubt you should think 05-06. Too bad you can't easily pull your subwoofer as that most likely will be needed on any LS430. Good luck and at least you were not hurt. Negotiate , negotiate, negoitiate!!!!! It's hard to find another good one!!!!

 

Sorry about your LS. Keep looking and i'm sure something great will pop up! I hate irresponsible drivers. Glad your safe though!